70's Speedwell titanium - update: new pics
 

Update: new pics in post # 22

Picked this up yesterday: a Van Deursen labeled Speedwell. I didn't have clue what it was when I saw the ad, but it looked like it might be titanium, so off I went.
This is the picture from the ad:

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-HT3LA6EA.jpg

When I got home and looked the bike over I saw the "TitaLite" sticker:

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-LO3FINM8.jpg

It took Google all of .34 seconds to find me the Speedwell story:

http://www.handmadebikes.net/speedwell.html

Nice! The wheels are not original, and neither are bar and stem, but black ist gen. Dura-Ace seems at least period correct.

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-7GZGDS4S.jpg

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-ASOXM8GF.jpg

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-B33F33XT.jpg

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-84SJKON6.jpg

Two things make me wonder: the pedals (first time I've seen clipless pedals with clips):

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-JDQ8RMZQ.jpg

And the seat post. Anyone recognise this?

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-GB6VAWUJ.jpg

Wow, nice score! That's a legend, for sure. Too bad that somebody used it as an errand bike, but luckily it's in good hands now :P. Is it your size?

Well, that's the only thing wrong with it: it's a 55, where 62 would be ideal. :(

Then again, they seem to flex a lot, so a smallish frame might be a good thing. :o

I guess the pedals with clips and clipless could be useful, I think everyone's missed the front of a cleat engaging before, and you can still get a toe in place to start pedaling so you don't get stranded in an intersection.

Freakin sweet. Is the fork Ti as well?

Yes, as far as I can tell:

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-IEJMCBMO.jpg

seatpost looks like an american classic I've seen before,

I just examined the seat post a little closer. It seems to be a DIY attempt at a zero offset post:

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-UFWZDFMM.jpg

wow, i'd love to find something like that!

any idea how much it weighs? as is.

Nice find :thumb:
I'm certainly curious to see it finished.

OMG I can see Ocana even rode one of these bikes when he won the tour in 1973.
One of my all time cycling heroes on this bike :eek::love:

http://i40.tinypic.com/6zuck5.jpg

that is quite a gap. You definitely need a bigger seatpost! And perhaps a 16 cm stem :P

Wow---what an interesting piece of titanium evolution! I'd probably think of that more as a wall hanger curiosity than as a rider. That thing must have been a fortune in the 70s - titanium was not easy to come by, especially in higher grades. The US set up shell corporations overseas to buy it from the USSR and considered it a strategic resource. It was used in some of the spy planes the CIA had overflying Eastern Europe.

I'm afraid don't have any useable weighing instruments. It's either the kitchen scale (2 kg max) or the bathroom scale (accuracy +/- 5 kg). According to CR the frame, fork and headset weigh 4 lb. 1 oz. Whatever that is.

The only price info I have found so far is a handwritten note on a catalogue that says "polished frame in stock, $ 575 shipped UPS". I don't know how that compares to other bikes from that era.

Quite the find. I need some of those brake calipers.

Just found out: 1.842718995 kilograms, which is roughly equivalent to a full set of ishiwata 017 Record Breaker tubes (not including lugs, BB shell and headset). Pretty light, I'd say.

Very light indeed. Most modern Ti frames are about 1300 grams, it seems, with much beefier tubes. So expect a noodle! have you ridden it yet? I know the weather hasn't been kind in our corner of the world this week, but I managed to sneak in two nice rides.

That's a score and a half!

No, I haven't ridden it yet, but it is the work, not the weather that's keeping me indoors. Regarding the noodly character: that remains to be seen. Early examples weren't very stiff, but according to this article that had been cured by '75, and as mine is from august '77, it should be fine. We'll see.

Amazing find. Get some drops on it!

Yes sir! It took christmas for me to find some time to do this and make the bike look a bit more like when it came out of the Van Deursen shop, but here it is. Very pretty bike, if I say so myself.

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-JJPYUZZO.jpg

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-YLMWAJKP.jpg

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-7I3MFLSE.jpg

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-HY7A8GSP.jpg

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-76CF7XT6.jpg

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-P4VNB6FU.jpg

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-4DOG7GNM.jpg

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-YMIJTJ47.jpg

boooiiinngg!

Neat :thumb:

I wonder how much it was actually ridden, I have a feeling it was a time trial only piece?